Nielsen Spots Growing Black, Hispanic Radio Audiences

August 4, 2015 at 4:50 AM (PT)

NIELSEN’s just-released AUDIO TODAY report examined Black and Hispanic audiences and found the weekly reach of radio among Blacks and Hispanics has been growing steadily over the past five years. Since 2011, the weekly national Black radio audience has grown 5% (from 29.8 million to 31.3 million) while the Hispanic audience has grown 11% (from 36.5 million to 40.4 million). Combined, these groups account for almost a third (29.3%) of the national audience, representing 71.7 million audio consumers.

The states with the highest share of Black consumers listening to Urban radio formats are centered in the East, specifically the mid-Atlantic and the South. There are only two states west of the MISSISSIPPI (ARKANSAS and LOUISIANA) that index above the national average.

Conversely, the Hispanic map (below) looks a bit different, where western states and states with large urban areas (NEW YORK and CHICAGO) lead the way for listening to Spanish language radio.